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see you in 30-ish hours! 

weekend update

hope you had a pleasant long weekend! 

 

took a little road trip to Des Moines to celebrate the marriage of two of our friends! so amazing to see some of these ladies again -- cannot believe I haven't seen some of them in over 2 years! 

we came home Sunday and did a little yard work. not sure if the guy before us even bothered picking up weeds/dandelions in the backyard because they are EVERYWHERE. our backs were aching by the end of the night and we were starved so we went to a favorite irish pub of ours for some drinks and appetizers. i think Joe could eat those fish bites dipped in sriracha mayo for days. they had 80s music bingo going on and while we didn't pick up any boards, we would have won for sure. 

I am and will always be a fan of lazy mornings. We woke up Monday, stirred up some chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs. We spent most of the day outside; working on my car and grilling with some friends. 

nom nom :: Stuffed Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce

So typically, Joe doesn't like teriyaki sauce. He says he can taste the ginger and it's just not his thing. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't like ginger either (unless its with sushi) but I'm so use to the flavor, it isn't something that sticks out to me. I was a little hesitant to try this recipe for that reason but decided that it looked too delicious to pass up. I adapted it from this recipe but made a few changes like swapping out the sweetend condensed milk for almond milk (it's what we had in our fridge) and wouldn't have even known the difference. After we finished dinner, I asked if he was okay with that teriyaki sauce and he said he didn't even realize that was what I used. Guess I know this is going to become a repeat dish in our house... YES! 

Start the Stuffed Salmon with Sriracha Cream sauce by marinating it in your favorite teriyaki marinade. I used Trader Joe's Island Soyaki since I noticed the original recipe called for a bit more pineapple flavors. Let it marinate for at least 30 mins.

After it is done marinating, slit the sides of each filet and create a long pocket to stuff. Insert about a tablespoon of cream cheese - I used whipped cream cheese as it was easier to push into the pocket. 

Heat a medium sized pan on low-medium heat. Add about a tablespoon of oil. Set the fillets in there skin side down and cook for 10 minutes. I put the cover on and let it steam for a bit. I did not flip it since I wasn't sure if the cheese would spill out but it turned out just fine. Drizzle with the Sriracha cream sauce (recipe below) and ta-da!

Stuffed Salmon with Siracha Cream Sauce
adapted from The Boogie Blog
Ingredients
1 cup teriyaki marinade (Trader Joe's version is a fave)
2 salmon filets
2 tbsp whipped cream cheese
1 tbsp oil

for sauce
2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp almond milk, vanilla

Directions:
1. Marinate salmon filets in teriyaki sauce of your choice for at least 30 minutes.
2. Slice sides of filet to create a pocket
3. Stuff salmon pocket with cream cheese, do not overstuff. I used 1 tbsp for each filet.
4. Heat a medium sized pan on low-medium heat. Add oil to coat. Set the fillets in and cook for 10 minutes with cover. Serve once salmon is cooked
5. For sauce, mix all ingredients together. Add more sriracha for more spice.

my go-to green smoothie

the last couple weeks, I felt like I wasn't getting enough greens in my diet. This is probably due to the fact that I was throwing out our box of baby spinach from Costco week after week and trying to figure out why we didn't go through it. Cause: not enough lunch toting and salad eating. But what do you do when you are just not in the mood for some leafy greens? 

Throw it in a smoothie, of course. 

Go-To Green Smoothie

Ingredients
2 cups spinach, fresh
2 cups water
1 cup mango, fresh or frozen
1 cup pineapple, fresh or frozen
1 bananas, fresh or frozen

Directions:

1. Blend the water and fresh spinach until it is a liquid. This will make sure you don't drink leafy bits. 

2. Add the remaining fruit in and blend until smooth. 

Tips: You'll want to use one fruit frozen to make the smoothie cold. I typically use a fresh mangos and pineapple and a frozen banana. Usually when I see bananas getting too ripe, I peel, slice and freeze them for smoothies or banana bread.